While the Olympic equestrian athletes can simply jump on a commercial flight, it’s obviously not that easy for the four-legged athletes.
We’re used to seeing horses being pulled in trailers traveling around the United States, but sometimes they, too, are packed and ready to head to the airport. Clearly, that’s the only way when it comes to these Olympic equestrian athletes getting to other countries when there’s an ocean in the middle.
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Welcome to Air Horse One.
According to the Essentially Sports website, Air Horse One is a flying stable designed for these four-legged athletes whether it’s the Kentucky Derby or horses going for Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.
Tex Sutton is the only company with a dedicated aircraft solely for horse travel, granting them exclusive rights to the call-sign Air Horse One. This unique advantage allows them to schedule flights at the team’s convenience, avoiding any hassle.
There’s a team of humans on board, as well as allowing the horses’ own groomers and other human assistants to travel with them.
Of course not everyone has access to Air Force One, being that it’s a company in the United States. However, other countries have similar companies to Tex Sutton and his copyrighted Air Horse One that cater to a very first class travel experience for horses.
Per ABC News Australia, Equestrian Australia is an equine-only flying stable. There are plenty of other ways including DHL cargo planes, according to Airport Tag on Instagram that will specifically dedicate a plane to horse-friendly flying, as well.
Oh, and horses do need passports to travel overseas, according to ABC News Australia — that includes vaccinations and travel history.
Horses don’t have photos in their passports. Instead, there is a silhouette that has an outline and any unique markings or colours to help identify the horse. But the main feature that identifies horses these days, like most animals is microchips.
They’re issued by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.
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